Monday, November 21, 2011

How to dump and thoroughly clean your RV's black water tank

The RV Geeks demonstrate how to dump RV waste water holding tanks and thoroughly clean the black tank. Keeping your sewage tank super clean requires following a few simple procedures which will make it stay odor-free.

Many RVers think their black tank is clean when they just empty it and flush out the sewer hose with water from the grey tank. Even those RVers who use a black tank flush system often don't utilize the most important piece of equipment necessary to monitor the cleanliness of the black tank: a clear sewer elbow.

@Doug and Sheila — You're absolutely right about putting some water into the black tank after dumping. At 13:18 in the video, we did mention to put in a gallon of fresh water when you add the tank chemical. We only add one gallon so that we won't start filling the tank up any faster than necessary, but more water can definitely be used if desired, to be sure the bottom of the tank is covered. Instead, we prefer to simply use a little extra water during the first couple of flushes after dumping, especially if any of those flushes involve.... uh.... something more than #1. ;-)

Comment was made that the gray tank valve can be left open while hooked up to sewer. I was under the impression that you should always keep valves closed so sewer gas doesn't come back in. Correct me if I am wrong, please. Good info.

All information on this website is copyrighted by RVtravel.com. Our offices are located at 610 5th Ave. S, Ste. F, Edmonds, WA 98020. Write editor Chuck Woodbury at Chuck(at)RVtravel.com. Any information gathered by visiting this website is kept private and never sold or shared with outsiders.